Guides / Glossary
IT terms, in plain English.
The jargon you'll hear from IT people, vendors and insurance forms, translated into what it actually means for your business.
32 terms · A B C E F H I L M N O P R S U V Z
- Access point (AP)
The device that puts out Wi-Fi. Businesses usually need several, placed and tuned for the building.
Why it matters: Most “the internet is slow” complaints are really weak or overloaded Wi-Fi, not the internet connection.
- Backup vs. sync
Sync (like OneDrive) keeps the same copy everywhere, including your mistakes. A backup keeps older versions you can go back to.
Why it matters: If a file gets deleted or encrypted, sync copies the damage. Only a real backup gets you back to yesterday.
- Business email compromise (BEC)
When a criminal gets into, or imitates, a real email account and uses it to redirect payments or request gift cards.
Why it matters: It's one of the most expensive scams out there, and it usually looks like a normal invoice or a quick request from the boss.
- Conditional Access
Microsoft 365 rules that decide when someone can sign in, like requiring MFA or blocking sign-ins from other countries.
Why it matters: It stops a lot of stolen-password logins before they get anywhere.
- EDR (endpoint detection and response)
Modern antivirus that watches what programs actually do, not just known bad files, and can isolate a computer if something looks wrong.
Why it matters: Traditional antivirus misses a lot of today's attacks. EDR is what catches the ones that get past email filtering.
- End of life (EOL)
When a vendor stops releasing updates for a product, like an old version of Windows or Windows Server.
Why it matters: It keeps working, but new security holes never get fixed. Plan the replacement before the date, not after.
- Endpoint
Any device that connects to your network: desktops, laptops, servers, phones and tablets.
Why it matters: Every endpoint is a door. Managing them all the same way is how you keep none of them left open.
- Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)
Microsoft's sign-in system for Microsoft 365. It's where user accounts, passwords and MFA live.
Why it matters: Set up well, it's how one account and one set of security rules follow each employee everywhere.
- Firewall
The device (or software) that decides what traffic is allowed in and out of your network.
Why it matters: The one your internet provider gave you is usually the bare minimum. A business firewall gives you real control and visibility.
- Help desk
The people you contact when something isn't working, by phone, email or a support request.
Why it matters: Fast, familiar help keeps a five-minute problem from eating someone's afternoon.
- Image-level backup
A backup of an entire computer or server, including Windows, programs and settings, not just the files.
Why it matters: You can bring back the whole machine, often onto new hardware, instead of reinstalling everything by hand.
- Internet failover
A second internet connection, often cellular or a different provider, that takes over automatically if the main one drops.
Why it matters: If your phones, card machines and cloud software all need internet, one connection is a single point of failure.
- Least privilege
Giving each person access to what they need for their job, and nothing more.
Why it matters: When an account does get compromised, it limits how much damage it can do.
- MFA (multi-factor authentication)
A second check after your password, usually a code or a tap on your phone, so a stolen password alone can't get someone in.
Why it matters: It blocks the large majority of account takeovers. If you only do one security thing this year, turn this on everywhere.
- Microsoft 365 tenant
Your company's private space inside Microsoft 365: your users, mailboxes, files, licenses and security settings.
Why it matters: Whoever controls the tenant controls your email and files. It should be owned by your business, not a person or an old vendor.
- MSP (managed service provider)
An outside company that runs your IT for a predictable monthly fee instead of billing only when something breaks.
Why it matters: You get maintenance and monitoring, not just repairs, and your IT provider is paid to prevent problems instead of to fix them.
- NVR (network video recorder)
The box that records and stores footage from IP security cameras.
Why it matters: Where it lives, how long it keeps footage and who can reach it remotely all matter when you actually need a clip.
- Password manager
An app that creates and remembers a unique strong password for every account.
Why it matters: Reused passwords are how one leaked website login turns into a hacked email account.
- Patching
Installing the updates Microsoft and other vendors release to fix bugs and close security holes.
Why it matters: Most successful attacks use holes that already had a fix available. Unpatched machines are low-hanging fruit.
- Phishing
A fake email, text or call made to look like someone you trust, trying to get you to click, log in or pay.
Why it matters: Most breaches at small businesses start with one convincing email, not a movie-style hack.
- Ransomware
Malicious software that locks up your files and demands payment to unlock them.
Why it matters: Good backups kept separate from your network are what turn a ransomware attack from a disaster into a bad day.
- RMM (remote monitoring and management)
A small agent on each computer that lets your IT provider watch its health, push updates and fix things without a site visit.
Why it matters: It's how problems get caught and fixed before anyone calls to report them.
- RPO (recovery point objective)
How much recent work you could stand to lose. Backups every hour means at most an hour of lost work.
Why it matters: It decides how often backups need to run. It's a business decision, not a technical one.
- RTO (recovery time objective)
How long you can be down before it really hurts. Four hours? Two days?
Why it matters: It decides what kind of backup and recovery setup you need, and what it costs.
- Shadow IT
Apps and accounts employees start using for work without anyone approving or tracking them.
Why it matters: Company data ends up in places nobody controls, and nobody can shut it off when someone leaves.
- SPF, DKIM & DMARC
Three DNS records that prove email claiming to be from your domain really came from you.
Why it matters: Without them, scammers can send email that looks like it came from your company, and your real email lands in spam more often.
- UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
A battery box that keeps equipment running through short outages and lets it shut down cleanly in long ones.
Why it matters: In Florida, power blips are constant. A UPS protects servers and network gear from corrupted data and fried hardware.
- VLAN
A way to split one physical network into separate virtual ones, like keeping guest Wi-Fi, cameras and office computers apart.
Why it matters: If a guest's phone or a cheap camera gets compromised, it can't reach your office computers.
- VoIP
Phone service that runs over your internet connection instead of old copper phone lines.
Why it matters: It's cheaper and more flexible, but it's only as reliable as the network it runs on.
- VPN
An encrypted tunnel that lets you reach office resources securely from somewhere else.
Why it matters: It's what keeps remote access from being a wide-open door into your network.
- Zero-day
A security hole attackers find before the vendor has a fix out.
Why it matters: You can't patch what doesn't have a patch yet, which is why layered protection like EDR and MFA matters.
Still sounds like jargon?
Ask us. We'll explain what it means for your business specifically, and whether you need to do anything about it.